Apple(AAPL.US) Supports Manufacturing Return to the US The Mac mini popularized by OpenClaw is about to welcome "Made in America"

Apple’s APP has learned that on Tuesday, the American consumer electronics giant Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) announced that it will begin manufacturing and assembling the Mac mini desktop computer in the Houston area later this year. This is an important part of its ambitious plan to promote the “reshoring of manufacturing to the U.S.” led by President Donald Trump.

The company stated that production and assembly will take place at the same location—last year, Apple began producing server clusters needed for AI data centers at this site to support its upcoming AI features. As part of this latest announcement, Apple said its AI server capacity will also be expanded, and a large manufacturing training facility of about 20,000 square feet will be established.

The Mac mini is considered one of the representative hardware products driven by “OpenClaw edge/local always-on deployment.” Recently, multiple media outlets and market reports have mentioned that the demand for AI agents like OpenClaw—these “locally run/local control” AI agents—is pushing users to buy small, low-power, 24/7 capable edge AI workstations. The Mac mini (especially higher-tier models with unified memory configurations) has become one of the mainstream hardware choices, with some models experiencing longer wait times and delayed deliveries.

Currently, most of Apple’s Mac computers are fully assembled in Asia, including factories in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. However, Apple has long produced the Mac Pro at a factory in Austin, Texas—the lowest-volume and lowest-sales Mac product, which Apple has discussed gradually phasing out. Since the launch of the first “Made in the USA” Mac Pro in 2013, the project has faced ongoing issues.

Mac mini Powered by OpenClaw

Recent market and media reports indicate that OpenClaw has been a key catalyst bringing the Mac mini into the spotlight.

The Mac mini remains one of Apple’s lower-volume consumer electronics products, long lagging behind the more popular MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and iMac. However, this year, the Mac mini has seen a strong boost in relevant sales, as users rush to deploy and run edge-level AI applications, such as AI agents focused on proxy workflows—OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot, Moltbot).

Apple product leaker Mark Gurman, known for accurately revealing iPhone updates, said that insiders have revealed that Apple is preparing a new model with a redesigned chip to boost sales this year.

From a technical perspective, OpenClaw is an “agentic” automated AI agent: it is not a one-time Q&A tool but a long-term background proxy workflow that continuously reads context, triggers tool calls, and performs actions on systems and applications (files, browsers, email, schedules, etc.). On macOS, it relies on “local gateway/permission proxy” to hold and orchestrate system-level permissions and capabilities, exposing macOS functions as proxy-callable interfaces. This architecture naturally favors a stable machine that can run 24/7, with the ability to operate a desktop environment and local toolchains. In contrast, Windows has different trust boundaries and permission isolation, making it more prone to automatic automation breakpoints.

Hardware-wise, the Mac mini (especially Apple Silicon models) fits well with OpenClaw’s “local inference + multi-tool orchestration” workload: on one hand, its performance-to-power ratio makes it suitable as a always-on “home/office agent server”; on the other hand, if users pair OpenClaw with a local LLM (rather than purely API-based), inference benefits from Apple Silicon’s unified memory and larger memory configurations—model weights and KV caches can reside persistently, reducing data transfer bottlenecks. As a result, high-memory Mac minis and Mac Studios are in high demand, with some experiencing delivery delays.

In terms of deployment economics and risk isolation, the Mac mini offers significant advantages. OpenClaw’s capabilities are extensive, but also controversial in terms of security, with some companies restricting or disabling it for cybersecurity reasons. Many opt to run it on dedicated, controllable, physically isolated small hosts—reducing data leakage and permission abuse risks, and separating “automation agents” from workstations or mobile devices, creating more auditable environments. The Mac mini’s small size, low risk noise, and ease of management make it the preferred hardware for such “local agent boxes.”

Responding to “Reshoring Manufacturing to the U.S.”

For example, Apple produces the Mac Pro for the U.S. market in Texas, while other regional versions are manufactured in Asia. Analysts generally expect this strategy to continue with the Mac mini as well.

Notably, Apple currently does not produce any high-volume products in the U.S., including iPhone and iPad series consumer electronics. However, its glass partner Corning Inc. now manufactures iPhone display components locally.

This latest move is part of a $6 billion U.S. domestic investment plan that CEO Tim Cook mentioned last year during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the Oval Office. During that meeting, Cook was widely known for presenting Trump with a gold bar made in the U.S. and a circular piece of Apple glass.

“Apple is very committed to the future of high-end manufacturing in the U.S. and reshoring manufacturing,” Cook said in a statement. “We are proud to significantly expand our manufacturing footprint in Houston and start producing the Mac mini later this year.”

Critics argue that Apple’s efforts to appease the Trump administration have crossed certain boundaries, but these efforts likely helped the company avoid significant tariffs and adverse pricing pressures on consumer electronics.

As early as 2019, Cook held a carefully orchestrated marketing event with then-President Trump, announcing that the Mac Pro would be produced in Texas—an announcement that drew some criticism from Apple skeptics and media questioning whether it was merely a show. In contrast, the Mac mini project was announced via a low-key press release.